Waiting for Packet 3, snore

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

Yes - I've seen lots of the debates on which is more expensive. Let me qualify that.

I've only been looking on the internet, so I know that my info isn't as good as it would be if I was actually on the ground. BUT in London I have been repeatedly shocked at what will pass for habitable accomodation. Finding a flat in London has to be one of the most depressing enterprises I have ever embarked upon.

From my cursory searches on the internet, I have seen almost no apartments I couldn't live in . And even at the cheaper end of the scale, I know we will have a choice of places to live. And that's within a short drive to the beach, and all the other good stuff that comes with the city. If you find a good flat here, you jump on it the second you see it, they are few and far between (unless you got shed loads of cash). Even if the actual amount of money that you end up paying is similar in both cities, I think that the quality of the apartment/house is far better in LA.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

It will partly depend on where you want to live - if you want the West side and the beach, you will pay for it! There is also a LOT of competition for good places - because I had been in England for many years and had a crappo credit score I lost out on few I really wanted

Where I live (Venice) the overall quality is generally better (newer buildings) but the size is pretty small - most of the 1 beds around the $1500/month mark are about 500-600 square feet and probably no outdoor space. In Hollywood, you seem to get much better square footage for your dollar. The Valley is generally cheaper still. The places I have seen in Silverlake are similar to Venice and kinda expensive and kinda small.

All depends on where you work - you want to avoid a commute that involves the freeway if you can. If you get a job in Burbank or Studio City, I'd rule out living near the beach because the commute would really, really suck.

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

I've decided to start doing things a little more proactive than just staring at the page on the embassy website that says where the processing's at. I know they only update it every 2 weeks or so. I'm just torturing myself.

So I've decided to learn spanish. Visiting Miami has shown me that it's a very good thing to have a little spanish, and I have absolutley none. French, German, Chinese even Irish, I speak enough to get by, and this language I would have the opportunity to actually USE.

Got to be better than looking at property rental sites etc.

Adios!!

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Ugh. I've also resigned myself to getting the RFE due to London's inability to change their own website and paperwork - the one about submitting affidavits of a bona fide marriage with the I-130. They're on the I-130 instructions, but London's stupid checklist says do not include anything extra and yet they're still sending out RFE's for these affidavits...for something people were told not to include...being contrary to their own instructions.

Just another thing to add time and stress to this process. *hatehatehate*

Yup -- I appear to have been the first London DCFer on VJ to get an RFE under this new regime -- lucky me! I submitted what turned out to be an I-130 that had expired 10 days before submission because I was stupid enough to use the one on the Embassy website (thanks London for being so up-to-date!), so of course there was NADA on it about affidavits, but lots about not submitting anything extra. When I got an RFE for affidavits I nearly had a coronary. It only added a few days to the process but it still ticked me off. I also had to submit a statement as to how the boy and I met, and when and how (can you believe it, how!?!??!) my former marriage broke down. So nice to tell Uncle Sam all about my marital breakdown, and to think of them judging me on it. Awesome!

As the Smiths said, "I can smile about it now but at the time it was terrible." Actually, no, it's still terrible and still burns me up that I had to justify why I got married so quickly after my decree absolute FINALLY came through, even though I hadn't been with my ex for nearly 2 years at that point.

(grumbles and stalks off to listen to the Smiths and sulk a bit)

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

On the day I was about to send away my I-130 package I noticed that the form had gone out of date. I was so annoyed cos my OH was away for a few days, and I was so impatient I reprinted it, and signed it for him!!!

What kind of things do they ask for in an RFE????

[gwenneh 7]

The RFE we're all going to get (thanks London) is for four affidavits. The first is by yourself and your husband, stating that you have a bona fide marriage, detailing how you met and events leading to your marriage. Then you need three affidavits from other people stating that you have a bona fide marriage.

See the thread on Dive Into America; they've got samples up and everything.

http://forum.diveintoamerica.com/showthread.php?t=4503

Thanks a lot, London.

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

Don't know if it makes you feel any better, but the website has been updated and they are not processing applications recieved on the

** drum roll ***

20th of August

inching along and processing them more slowly that they're coming in it looks like. They've lost 2 days since the last update 9 days ago. humph.

[gwenneh 7]

AAAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHH!!

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

Deep Breaths. Nothing I can do. Ohhhhmmmmmm

[no name 1]

I was so impatient I reprinted it, and signed it for him!!!

Um, fraud?!?

Edited October 31, 2007 by devilette

[C and J 1]

Don't know if it makes you feel any better, but the website has been updated and they are not processing applications recieved on the

** drum roll ***

20th of August

inching along and processing them more slowly that they're coming in it looks like. They've lost 2 days since the last update 9 days ago. humph.

*sigh* It seems there are delays at every single stage of this process at the moment USCIS approving late, NVC taking 4-6 weeks to receive and input the files, over 2 months now for the London interview... something tells me I'm not getting to the States in February

[StoryAngel 4]

We're waiting for NVC - it's been just over two weeks since NOA2 and under what used to be considered "normal" circumstances, we'd be well on our way by now to getting our new case number and packet 3. I called NVC yesterday in case ours had somehow been sent in record time (you never know!) but obviously not... It's frustrating, isn't it, when a few months ago once the NOA2 was approved and it felt like most of the work was over: the rest of the journey was relatively quick and you could really get on making plans with a decent idea of timescales... whereas now NOA2 is a bit like getting a Mars bar when you're half-way through running a marathon!

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

The RFE we're all going to get (thanks London) is for four affidavits. The first is by yourself and your husband, stating that you have a bona fide marriage, detailing how you met and events leading to your marriage. Then you need three affidavits from other people stating that you have a bona fide marriage.

See the thread on Dive Into America; they've got samples up and everything.

http://forum.diveintoamerica.com/showthread.php?t=4503

Thanks a lot, London.

Just read the Dive into America thread and while the examples are useful, I just wanted to point out what worked for us. Our "affidavits" were actually nothing of the sort -- in fact, they were all merely statements sworn in front of a solicitor (luckily our in-house solicitor at work -- she certified the signatures in exchange for a bottle of Becks!) which saved us a ton of money over getting them notarised in the UK (I should know -- I used to be one and I know how much I charged!).

The three quasi-affidavits went nowhere into the detail of the examples on DIA -- for example, I don't know why it would be unacceptable to have a testator who was at your wedding. There is nothing on the RFE that states this, and in the absence of specific instructions not to seek affidavits from such partied it would be acceptable. Also, I would beg to differ that the wording matters that much -- again, if it did, the Embassy would have included a sample AND you would have already heard horror stories on VJ about people having their affidavits refused for language. You do need to have the following info -- name, address, date of birth, citizenship (not necessarily exactly where you were born), how the testator knows the parties and how the testor knows this is a bona fide marriage.

I would also take issue with the example needing to include any language that the marriage is not a fraud or "arranged" -- it seems overly defensive to me and might set off someone's radar. Your testator needn't go into mega-mega detail either -- one of ours said she knew we were still in a marriage because I talked about my husband all the time in the office and she had received a thank you card for the wedding present. None of my testators wrote more than 3 sentences about our relationship, and in fact one of them had never even met my husband but had knowledge of our relationship from the aforementioned yabbering on in the office! But it worked.

Now, this may not be the case for everyone, but the affidavit I supplied about my relationship with my husband was specified to be from me as the petitioner only. Check the wording you get on the RFE for this though -- as I appear to have been one of the test cases, things may have changed since April. But if it says from the petitioner only, follow that. It stated how the boy and I met, developed our relationship and got married. It also (at the Embassy's request) stated how and when my prior marriage broke down and was dissolved.

I also backed everything up with photocopies of wedding congratulations cards, photos of us together and with our families over the course of our relationship, bills showing we lived at the same address (note: we had NOTHING in joint names, not even a tenancy agreement, but could prove we lived at the same address), etc. The whole package weighed in around one pound. Seems to have done the trick because I had the NOA2 turned around to me pretty much immediately.

Sorry if I've gone on about this, but as I've actually been through the whole RFE malarkey and popped out on the other side (*waves hi from America!*) I thought I'd let you know our experience. It really needn't be quite as difficult as you think it might be!

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

Thank you so much for the link Maven, I finally got around to reading it in full today.

Well it doesn't sound like it's that difficult, but a bit of a pain that it slows the process up.

I suppose I'll gather a few affidavidts and some evidence of a bona fide relationship together in anticipation. Out of interest, does anyone know of a reasonably priced notary in London?

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

Hey Hey, they updated the website again, and....

they are processing petitions filed on...

7th September

That means only a week or two for you Gwen666, and a month more than that for me. Whoo hooooo

I don't know how anyone survives non-DCF.

Course they probably shut down for a week or two over Christmas, so if i'm not approved by then, it will probably be mid-jan

Edited November 13, 2007 by Poiteen